Tightening our belts
[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 10
8 December - 12 January 2009 ]
Australian consumers will reduce spending for Christmas and beyond according to a University of Melbourne-commissioned Colmar Brunton poll.
Of those surveyed:
• 55 per cent are worried about Christmas costs in today’s economic climate;
• 78 per cent say they have not put money aside especially for Christmas;
• 17 per cent would reduce their Christmas spending by reducing money spent on presents, while 9 per cent will spend less on food;
• 25 per cent of those surveyed say they have changed seasonal travel plans because of the economy; and
• 28 per cent are less likely to take part in traditional post-Christmas shopping.
On the Federal Government’s Christmas stimulus package 71 per cent indicated that hospitals and health care should be the major focus of spending. Research analyst Dr Danielle Chmielewski (Economics and Commerce) notes that the environment finished near last in the poll.
“It almost seems to suggest that we are not really that serious about the environment – when things are good we can talk about it, but when something goes wrong we forget about it,” she says.
A full summary of the report will be available from 8 December at
newsroom.unimelb.edu.au
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